


Things To Be Thankful For

by NarutoRox



Category: The Morganville Vampires - Rachel Caine
Genre: Bad Cooking, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, Eve cannot cook, Family, Family Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Food Fight, Forced Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, Holidays, Humor, Mad Science, Michael cannot shop, Minor Injuries, Myrnin and Shane should not be left together unsupervised under any circumstances, Science and Food, Shane cannot science, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, unlikely bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 07:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2644154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarutoRox/pseuds/NarutoRox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Claire can't make it home for Thanksgiving, her friends take matters into their own hands. Together, they've taken on vampires, draug, and evil of all kinds...but how do they hold up to a 'simple' Thanksgiving dinner?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Health

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my FanFiction.net account for Thanksgiving 2012, this was my very first published multi-chapter fanfiction. I didn't feel a lot of pressure writing it, had fun with the story, and consider it my baby. I've done some editing, as originally there were a LOT of spelling and grammar mistakes coupled with some truly awful sentence structure that I've since fixed (or at least I hope I have...feel free to let me know if I've missed something), but the story is exactly the same otherwise. Just a little (or a lot) easier to read. :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire finds out the hard way that things don't always go as planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this particular chapter seems slow going, but it's more of an introduction than anything else. All the fun stuff happens afterward. ;)

Claire Danvers grinned, even if her mother couldn't see her through the phone.

"Of course I'm going to be there, Mom! I've been looking forward to it. I'm leaving on Tuesday, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She could almost see Mom smiling at the phone herself, and her tone when she answered only enforced the image.

"I know, sweetie, but still...are you sure _they_ are okay with it?"

'They' being the vampires, specifically Amelie.

"They were okay with it last time, weren't they?" Claire replied.

Well, actually, that had taken a bit of persuasion, and she was pretty sure her dad's health at the time had had something to do with it; but then again maybe she was just being too cynical. Maybe Amelie just thought it was important for Claire to spend Thanksgiving with her parents while she could. Or maybe she had been listening in on the likely wire-tapped phone call Claire had had with her mother that week before, when Mom had sounded so upset and tearful that her only daughter wasn't going to spend some quality time with her family at the time of year when it seemed to mean the most. Surely that had to have moved Amelie. It had certainly worked to make Claire feel guilty.

"I'll be there, Mom, honest. Everyone's okay with it, I've checked with them and everything. I'm heading over to see my boss now, and fix things up with him before I leave tomorrow. Nothing pending death will prevent me from being there."

Well, really she was going to make sure Myrnin remembered that she was leaving, and reminding him that he wouldn't be seeing her again until Monday, as well making sure he'd given up on his 'advanced thermal ray' - a gadget you pointed at a vampire (or person, or table, or whatever suited Myrnin's fancy at the time) to cook them from the inside out. From what Claire had seen so far, Myrnin had managed to create a device that's only purpose was to spontaneously blow random things (that he wasn't pointing at) up. She was trying to convince him to give it up while she was out of town, lest he set himself - or the city - on fire, but he was being stubborn.

Maybe if she reminded him she was the only one who remembered where the fire extinguisher was, he'd be willing to see things her way. Probably not, but maybe.

She wasn't telling her mother all of that, though.

"Alright, honey, then I have to go, Aunt Sophie is on the other line. She's still determined to bring a pumpkin pie, and she's badgering me about my recipe." Mom said, pleased with Claire's excitement and already planning for her arrival.

"But Mom, I thought you always made the pie?"

"I do, but now we're having a friendly competition over who makes a better one. She says the recipe makes the dish, your dad said it's the cook...and now we have a challenge." Claire laughed, and after a few more moments with her mother she said good-bye and headed off to go make sure her boss had knowledge of where every fire-extinguisher in his lab was, as well as the Morganville Fire Department on speed-dial.

* * *

 

As it turned out, Myrnin had been distracted with a new experiment; and it was one that didn't require her presence, apparently, because she wasn't there five minutes before her told her she was distracting him and that she should just leave and he would see her later. She was a little worried as to why he wouldn't let her more than ten or so feet into the lab, but eventually she decided she really didn't want to know and besides, she had packing to do, so she left a very relieved looking Myrnin behind and headed home.

"I'm back!" Claire called as she walked in. "Anybody home?"

She was greeted with shouts from all three other members of the Glass house, all in different directions. She headed for the kitchen, where she thought she had heard Michael. She found him washing dishes.

"Hey. What was for dinner?" she asked. He pointed at the pot on the stove.

"Chili. Again. It was Shane's turn to cook. I think he knows that if we get sick of it, we'll stop giving him dinner duty." He grinned at her. "Though maybe we should offer to give him dish duty instead, that might change his mind."

"He'll just start buying paper plates, or breaking dishes on purpose." said Eve as she walked through the kitchen door. "What's up, CB? Did you check with the crazy-boss and make sure he doesn't try to cook us like a Thanksgiving turkey while you're gone?"

"No, I think he's bored with it for now. That or he blew it up. And I thought Shane cooked yesterday?" Claire asked, fixing herself a bowl.

"Shane did, but as it was his girlfriend's turn today, and she wasn't here, he decided to gallantly take her turn for her today." Shane replied as he, too, walked into the kitchen and grinned at Claire, then flipped off Eve for rolling her eyes at him.

"Oops...sorry. I completely forgot. I was busy trying to get everything done today."

Claire looked up at him, but he just winked and said "You can make it up to me."

Claire blushed.

"By bringing back some of your Mom's cooking." When she raised her eyebrows at him, he shrugged. "Hey, I'm looking at a Stouffer's frozen meal on Turkey Day otherwise. I've eaten your mom's food...that woman can cook. A Thanksgiving dinner plate from her table? Worth it's weight in gold, I bet."

Claire rolled her eyes but smiled anyway and sat down at the table.

"Are you implying the frozen-dinner made for you lovingly by my hand last year sucked?" Eve asked, glaring at Shane from across the table.

"No, I'm not implying. I'm telling you: those things sucked. You didn't even heat them up right. The turkey was an overcooked choking hazard, and the potatoes where like cold ice-cream." he retorted.

"If you think you could do better, than you're more than welcome to take up the mantle this year." Eve sniffed primly.

"Fine, we'll be having chili."

"Chili isn't Thanksgiving food."

"It is if I use ground turkey instead of beef."

Michael sat down across from Claire, ignoring Eve and Shane's bickering. "You looking forward to seeing your parents?" he asked, sipping his sports bottle.

"Yes," Claire answered. "And everyone else, too. A couple of my other relatives are going to be there, and most of them I haven't gotten to see since I moved here." Michael nodded. "I miss seeing my family, that's what's important." Claire added. "Though Mom's home cooking is something to look forward to."

Michael laughed.

"See, even Claire thinks your cooking sucks!" Shane said loudly from up the table.

"She's eating your chili as she says that!" Eve snapped back.

At that, Claire wisely decided to finish her chili upstairs, before anyone started demanding blind taste-tests.

* * *

 

Claire scrambled along the street the next morning, flustered as she hurried along to Myrnin's lab.

Claire hadn't noticed until this morning, but in Myrnin's haste to get her to leave the day before she had left her laptop on one of the lab tables, and no way was she leaving without it. She was leaving in two hours, and Myrnin had locked the lab portal and wasn't answering his phone; which wasn't out of character for him, but didn't bid well for the fate of her laptop. Claire hoped Myrnin hadn't blown it up.

She fumed as she rushed and tried calling him again, surprised and still a little ticked when he finally picked up.

"There you are! Finally! Myrnin, is my laptop there?" she half-gasped into the phone while she picked up her pace.

"Your what? And why are you calling me, I thought you were leaving?"

She bit back a growl of frustration. He better not have destroyed it.

"My _computer_ , Myrnin. Look, if you could just find it and maybe wait for me by the lab entrance? I'm almost there, I just want to pick it up and-"

Suddenly Claire heard a car's horn honk, then a squealing of tires, followed by the oddest sensation of the world being turned upside down, and something pushing along her side.

Claire blinked up at the sky. Wait, why was she staring at the sky? Almost distantly, Claire registered people shouting, and could hear Myrnin yelling at her from her phone, which she realized she was still holding. This all seemed very confusing, however, so Claire closed her eyes, thinking she was a little tired, all of a sudden.

* * *

 

Claire blinked. She felt a little strange. She was lying in a bed, staring at a white ceiling. This seemed odd to her. Hadn't she been staring at the sky earlier?

She started to sit up, but felt a sharp pain in her head, shoulder, and ribs, all at once. Her gasp caught the attention of three other people in the room, who all started trying to talk to her and force her to lay back all at once. She managed to quiet them some by laying back anyway and holding up her hand for silence.

"What happened?" she croaked, surprised by how her voice sounded and how thirsty she was.

Someone - Eve, Claire realized - handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks." Claire murmured, though Eve had to help her hold it. She felt a little stiff.

"You were in a bit of an accident, dear." Myrnin, one of her other visitors, said quietly. "How are you feeling?"

An accident? "What accid-" Then she remembered. She'd been crossing the street, that car had turned the corner, and then...

"I got hit by a car?"

"Yes, do you remember? You were trying to cross the street, and some jackass in a pick-up side-swiped you. Seriously, though, how are you feeling?" Shane asked, concern on his face. He had sat down at the edge of her bed, and appeared to be searching her face for any sign of injury.

"Stiff." she answered vaguely. "Sore." She winced. Her leg was propped up. "Wait...how bad is it?"

"You have a slight stress-fracture in your leg, a light concussion from when you hit your head on the pavement, and some bumps, cuts, and bruises." Myrnin replied. He looked a little relieved. "The doctors are keeping you overnight for observation, but they say you should be okay within a few weeks. You're very lucky. They also said you are to-"

"Take it _easy._ " finished Dr. Mills, walking into the room with Michael, who immediately walked over to give her a hug.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked softly, like he was afraid talking too loudly would somehow hurt her. Claire was already tired of that question, and she's be awake for less than five minutes.

"Bed rest, don't lift anything, and try not to walk on your leg." Dr. Mills continued, ignoring everybody's attempts to start asking questions. "If all goes well, which I expect it to, you can go home tomorrow. No work," he gave Myrnin a look, who simply bowed his head in acknowledgement. "No school, just try not to leave the house until we give you the all-clear. Stay home."

Claire blinked. Home? Wait, home. She was supposed to go see her family! "What time is it?" she asked quickly, cutting everyone else off as they started to ask questions again.

They stared at her in surprise, but Michael answered her. "About 7:00 pm, why?"

Claire groaned. "I was supposed to leave for my parents house six hours ago! They're probably wondering what happened..."

"We'll give them a call," said Michael. "But, uh, Claire, I don't think-"

"No traveling." said Dr. Mills, fiddling with a chart at the bottom of Claire's bed. "Strait home, then bed, rest. Maybe in a week or two, but not right now."

"But Thanksgiving is in _two days_! I promised my mom!"

"And she'll understand." said Dr. Mills firmly. He stared at Claire a minute, then smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but it's really not a good idea. I'd rather keep you close for observation anyway, just in case. And I'm sure your mother would rather you be safe and well. You're not going, doctor's orders."

Claire slumped back in her bed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the doctor had left, and four sets of concerned eyes stared back at her. She found Shane's and said "Does the Thanksgiving chili come with pie?"


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve thinks it's a great idea. Everyone else has their doubts. 
> 
> Also, shopping for ingredients the day before Thanksgiving is not recommended.

Shane walked downstairs with Claire's breakfast tray, joining Eve and Michael in the kitchen.

"How is she feeling?" Michael asked, looking up from his coffee cup.

"Really sick of that question. She's on the phone with her mom again." Shane sighed. "She was really looking forward to going..."

Michael frowned. "I know, but there's not much that can be done about it..."

"Actually, I think there is." Eve piped up suddenly, sounding both tentative and a little excited. "I was thinking about it last night, and I thought, you know, maybe we could do a Thanksgiving dinner here."

Both boys stared at her. "More of those God-awful frozen dinners? Eve, I'm really sorry, but that isn't going to make _anyone_ feel better." Shane said, without his usual snark.

"No, not _those_ , dumbass. A _real_ Thanksgiving dinner. With turkey and stuffing and gravy and everything! You know, we could make it as a surprise for her."

They didn't stop staring at her. "You mean, like _cook_ it. Ourselves? _Dinner_? Eve, you do know that tacos and chili and hotdogs isn't really cooking, right? That we've never actually made anything complicated ourselves, right?" Now Shane's voice wasn't only snarky, but a little panicked.

Michael didn't sound much better as he added "And we don't have any of those things here, babe."

Eve rolled her eyes. "So we'll get the stuff! How hard can it be? People do it all the time, it can't possibly be that complicated."

"Eve, I've watched enough television to know that waiting until the day before Thanksgiving to get the food is a horrible idea. They won't have anything we want, and while we're on that topic, what the hell _do_ we want, anyway?" Michael asked, still sounding a little alarmed.

"I'll make a list! We need gravy stuff, and potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, and a turkey of course." Eve sounded smug, and more than a little proud of herself. "I was looking for easy recipes online, and I even wrote down everything we'll need, see?"

She produced a list from her pocket with a flourish. The boys eyed it warily.

"I don't know, Eve..." Michael sighed.

"Come on, it's for Claire! Poor, hurt, depressed Claire. We can DO this, I know it!" Eve begged, using her best puppy-dog expression.

"Dammit, I guess it can't hurt to try." sighed Shane. "I don't see how Eve's not going to let us do it, anyway, Mikey. But just so we're clear, I'm not wearing a flowery apron. And I get to carve the turkey, all manly like."

Eve squealed and jumped up to hug them both. "Okay okay, you carve and no aprons. This is great! Well, I have to go pull a shift at Common Grounds, can you guys go get the stuff from the list?" she grabbed her purse and started heading for the door, leaving Shane and a stunned Michael holding the list she had shoved in his hand.

"Wait, Eve, WE have to get the stuff?! But-"

Eve cut Shane off. "I've got work, and you two have the day off! We won't be able to get it otherwise, come on, you can do it!" she exclaimed, then blew them both a kiss and ran out the door before either of them could get another word in.

Shane looked over at Michael, who was examining the list with a slight frown.

"We've been had, haven't we?"

"Yep." Michael replied. Then he sighed. "I'll get the car keys." Shane shook his head and grinned, in spite of himself.

"I'll go make sure Claire's settled, and tell her we're leaving." He shook his head again. "But really, how bad can it be?"

* * *

 

_I would rather fight off a crowd of hungry vampires_ _than EVER have to fight an old lady for the last can of yams again,_ Shane thought from his current position guarding the shopping cart. He'd just been benched by Michael from the grocery warfare after taking a particularly hard hit in the kidney via an old granny determined to have that one particular brand of yams. Not that Michael was faring much better; pitiful old housewives kept asking him to get things from the top shelf for them, only to steal whatever it was and leave Michael high and dry.

Shane wondered if everyone was like this, or if it was only the Morganville natives. Things were getting downright ugly, and it didn't look like it was going to get any better; this was the third store they had been in and they still weren't even halfway done. They were pleased, however, with the turkey, which they had wisely decided to get first.

He watched as Michael went to grab a can of green beans, only to be sidelined by a woman ramming into him with her shopping cart. Yet another women grabbed the last two cans.

_Yep._ Shane thought. _Would rather fight the vamps._

He hoped the next store had the beans. And that his side would quit burning.

* * *

 

Eve handed the coffee over, then turned to the register to make change. It wasn't quite as busy today with the college students, but there was still a lot of people who wanted caffeine. She heard one older woman say it kept her sharp for her last-minute shopping, and that sharpness was the only thing standing between her and some hoodlum who tried to take her yams. Eve almost felt sorry for anyone stupid enough to get between the woman and her prize; that cane looked dangerous.

Oliver came around the corner, and Eve caught his attention for the first time all day.

"What?" he asked, irritated. "I told you nobody else is coming in, you're getting paid over-time."

"It's not that," Eve said, trying hard to moderate her tone. Ordinarily she wouldn't have bothered, but today it seemed prudent considering she was asking a favor.

"Can I take one of those home?" she asked, pointing around to the pumpkin pies all boxed up at the corner of the counter. They'd been selling them all week, with Oliver wanting to take advantage of the season (and profits).

Oliver frowned, both surprised at her tone and her question. "Yes, fine, they're going to go stale anyway. Why?"

"I want it for tomorrow, for dinner." she said, relieved he'd just said yes and not wanting to go into it.

"Not that it's any of my concern, but a pie for dinner isn't very nutritious." he said offhand.

"We're not having it _for_ dinner, _with_ dinner. Like Thanksgiving dinner, you can't have it without pumpkin pie." she said, rolling her eyes.

"I was not aware you had to have pie with tacos." he responded, counting out the drawer.

Eve scowled. "We're not having tacos, we're having turkey, and all the fixings."

"Oh? Who's making it?"

"We are."

He dropped some change he'd been counting. "Pardon?"

She glared again. "We're fixing dinner, Thanksgiving dinner."

He stared at her, his eyebrows raised. " _You're_ making it?" he asked. Did he actually sound _alarmed_?

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" Eve fumed, suddenly getting the feeling he was making fun of her. "It's important to Claire, so we're going to surprise her! And you're right, it isn't _any_ of your concern." she huffed.

Oliver just shook his head. Eve heard him mumble "She'll be surprised, alright." as he walked off.

Fuming, Eve turned to get the next customer, a woman who was bragging to her friends how she'd snaked the last two cans of green beans from the store.

* * *

 

"We're home!" Shane yelled tiredly as he and Michael walked in the front door.

They had been to every grocery store in Morganville, but they had gotten everything on the list. Or at least, they thought they had; Shane had lost the list at the store before last during a game of tug-of-war over a bag of potatoes with a 12-year-old mama's boy. Shane had also lost said tug-of-war contest when the boy's 10-year-old sister walked up and kicked him round the back of the knee. They had been kicked out of the store when Shane had picked up a discarded potato and threw it at the kid, though Michael had been able to snag a bag in the confusion.

"Hey, guys, that took awhile. What did you get?" Claire asked from the couch. Shane jumped and pushed Michael back a bit, trying to hide most of the groceries.

"Uh, nothin' much. Where's Eve? And how did you get down the stairs? You were supposed to stay in bed!"

"In the kitchen, she's been waiting for you. Why are you limping? And I didn't go down myself! I-"

"THERE you are!" Eve cried, popping out of nowhere. "Come on, come on, bring those in here! You sit tight, CB, I'll bring you something to eat in a minute." She hustled them into the kitchen. "Wait, is this all?"

"No, there's more in the car. How did Claire get downstairs?" Shane demanded.

"Michael, go sneak around the back and bring the rest in." she ordered before answering Shane. "And she was down here when I got here, along with Myrnin. Apparently he stopped by to give her some books to read and brought her down. He was here until just a bit ago, chewing me out for leaving Claire alone for so long. Where the hell were you? What took so long?" she snapped, glaring at them.

They stared at her in disbelief.

"Michael," Shane said finally, holding out his hand. "Potato. Now."

"You're not hitting her with a potato, Shane." Michael sighed warily.

"Give me that damn can of yams, then."

Michael just shook his head, then headed out the back door to get the rest of the food. Eve blinked at Shane a minute, then went over to the fridge and grabbed him a coke.

"Thanks." he sighed.

She shrugged, then said "Er, by the way, I, um, told Myrnin he could come."

Shane sprayed coke across the room. "WHAT? Why?!"

"Well, when he was more or less yelling at me, I told him what we were doing and it just sort-of came out!" she said defensively. "And keep your voice down, Claire will hear you. It will probably cheer her up more, you know she'd probably suggest it herself if she knew. And I told him he had to bring a dish if he came. He'll probably forget about it anyway."

Shane scowled. "Well, I know what I _won't_ be eating, then." he muttered as he stomped over to the door to open it for Michael. "And it's a good thing we got a big turkey." Michael popped everything on the table, said turkey included. "I just don't know why nobody had grabbed the thing yet, I mean look at it, it's huge!"

"Maybe because nobody could lift it?" suggested Michael. "I mean, I had to carry the thing, I think it bent the cart."

Eve stared at it, horrified. "Did you maybe think THAT was why they didn't grab it? Because its the size of a pterodactyl?! How the hell is this thing supposed to fit in our oven?!"

"Well, yeah, but there will be plenty!" protested Shane.

"How long is this stupid thing supposed to cook?!" she demanded.

Michael looked at the tag. "Well, let's see, it says an hour for every..." he paused. "Uh, a very long time."

"Well, maybe you could start cooking it really early?" suggested Shane. "And I'm sure it will fit once it thaws."

They all froze. Then stared at the (frozen) beast on the table.

"It's frozen solid." whispered Eve in horror. "It's frozen solid! How the hell are we supposed to thaw this monster out by tomorrow!"

Shane looked at Michael frantically. "Uh, Mikey, does it have thawing instruction?"

"Yes, it does." said Michael calmly. "We should have started two days ago."

"Dammit!"

"Well, lets put it in some hot water in the sink, that should help it thaw." Michael said reasonably.

They all stared at the turkey, then the sink, then back at the turkey.

"No way in hell that's gonna fit. And mouth shut, Shane." growled Eve. Shane rolled his eyes.

"We'll figure something out," Michael said soothingly.

"What if we just put it in the bathtub upstairs?" suggested Shane.

"That...could work." Eve said slowly.

"But then Claire will see it." Michael pointed out

"We don't exactly have any better ideas." sighed Shane.

Eve nodded. "I think I have an idea..."

In the end, they put the turkey in a laundry bag and took it upstairs to the bathroom. Eve than artfully hung Michael's underwear all over and around the tub, telling Claire the clothes-dryer was broken and Michael's unmentionables needed to dry. Michael didn't particularly care for this plan (Shane had to leave the room, unable to keep a straight face) but it was the best they had, so Eve told him to deal with it.

"I swear, though, if that thing comes out of the oven in a pair of Mikey's boxers, I'm not eating it." Shane announced once they'd gotten Claire up to bed.

"Man, don't make me take out your other knee." sighed Michael.

Eve scowled. "We'll just have to get up early to make everything, and figure out a way to distract Claire for the day."

"That's going to be easier said than done." Shane sighed. "If I've got to get up to move Turkasourus in the morning, I'm going to bed early. 'Night."

They all agreed, and went off to bed to prepare for the next day.


	3. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang discovers exactly why it's a bad idea to buy a frozen turkey the day before you plan to cook it, and Shane makes an unlikely alliance. 
> 
> Also: Shane is not a plumber, Eve is not a cook, and Myrnin is not normal.

Shane blinked groggily at the ceiling. That was odd; he'd been sleeping pretty deeply.

Something smacked his shoulder again. Wait, again? Oh, that's right, that's what woke him up... _WHACK_!

He jumped this time. "What the hell?!" he swore, turning over. He wished he hadn't. Staring right back at him - sans her usual goth makeup, but still dressed to kill - was Eve. A very furious-looking Eve. _Ulp_.

"Uh, Eve? Does Michael know you're in here?" he managed to croak.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "In fact, he doesn't. He's out getting donuts. But that's none of your concern. Do you know what is, Shane Collins?"

This sounded bad. Very bad. "Uhhhh, what?"

She held up her wooden spoon. Oh, that's what she'd been whacking him with.

"Why don't you get up and see?" she asked, breathing heavily.

Crap. He was going to die in his pajamas via wooden spoon.

"Um, what?"

"Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Bed. NOW." she hissed, and then hit him over the head with her spoon. "Up up up up UP!" she snarled, punctuating each word with a whack from her spoon.

"Okay okay I'm up! Sheesh! What's the big deal?!" he yelled.

She whacked him again. "Shush, you'll wake Claire!"

Wake Claire? Why- Oh. Right. Surprise. Gotcha. Now he remembered. He gave her an okay sign, and she nodded and stomped out of his room. When he didn't immediately follow, she turned back and started smacking the spoon to the palm of her hand threateningly. He got the point and jumped up to follow.

She stomped into the bathroom and pointed at the bathtub with her spoon. He tentatively walked over and peaked in, where the turkey he and Michael had gotten was still sitting.

"Um, problem?"

"It's _still_ frozen, Shane." she spat. He reached over and knocked on the top of it. Yep. Like an iceberg. Uh-oh.

"W-well, maybe we can-"

"WE can do nothing about this ostrich. It is now YOUR problem. I was supposed to start cooking it an hour ago, but since the stupid thing _still_ hasn't thawed, I can't do anything about it. So now YOU get to figure out how to cook a fifty-pound turkzilla by dinner time, or get a new one somewhere that ISN'T frozen, or I will stake you with this spoon. Capiche?" she said, deadpan.

"Oh, come on, it's not THAT big!" he protested.

"The only way you could have gotten one bigger is if you went down to Sesame Street and shot Big Bird! The damn thing is _huge_! I don't know what you were thinking! Therefore, no longer my problem. Now it's yours." She turned to leave.

"Where the hell am I supposed to get a new one?!" Shane demanded. She slowly rotated back, spoon in hand. "Uh I'll figure it out." he said quickly. "Er, where did you say Michael was? I need his help to move this thing."

* * *

 

When Shane had dressed and came down to join Eve in the kitchen, Michael had already returned with a big box of fried sugary pastry to fortify them (in his own words). He didn't look any better at being an early bird than Shane or Eve, and practically guzzled the coffee Eve had poured him. Shane took his own cup and two donuts, then sat down to wolf them up before Eve got any ideas about hitting him again.

"Oh, I stopped at the blood bank while I was out." Michael said casually, sipping his second cup. Eve and Shane looked up at him, because this wasn't something Michael generally announced to the group.

"So?" Eve said finally, still sounding ill-tempered.

A blush creeped up Michael's face. "Uh, well, guess who I ran into while I was there?" he said, still trying to keep his tone casual. Too casual. Both Eve and Shane raised their eyebrows.

"Vampires?" Shane suggested, annoyed. Eve's mood was contagious.

"Er, well, yes. Uh, one in particular. You remember Theo, don't you?" Michael said, still trying too hard at his tone.

"Of course we remember Theo. What kind of a question is that?" Shane mumbled around a mouthful.

"Well, he was asking how Claire was...and I told him about how we were trying to surprise her, and I, well, um, sort-of invited him." Michael said the last part quickly, then started gulping coffee again.

"You WHAT?" yelped Eve, while Shane simply sighed and took a swig out of his mug.

"W-well, you invited Myrnin, and Theo's okay, I mean we all like him, right?" stammered Michael. "Oh, and he might bring some of his family."

Shane winced, while Eve shrieked "Why would you do that?! You can't just invite whoever suits you at the time!"

"He looked a little sad, and it just came out! I don't know what I was thinking! And besides, at least we have a big turkey, right?" Michael tried helpfully. Shane rapidly shook his head behind Eve, who stared at Michael in horror for a minute before simply falling into a chair and bursting into tears. Both boys jumped.

"Oh, come on, Eve, everything's going to be alright. Don't cry, we'll work everything out." Shane said quickly, patting her on the shoulder.

"Come on, babe, it's not that bad! Don't cry..." soothed Michael.

"Yes, it _is_. It is bad! And everything's _not_ alright!" Eve sobbed. "The stupid turkey isn't even thawed yet! AND I forgot to bring the pie from Common Grounds with me yesterday. Everything's ruined!" she wailed.

"No, no, everything's going to be fine," Michael said in his soothing voice. "We've worked through much worse."

"And don't you worry about the turkey, that's my problem, remember?" Shane added. Eve shook her head.

"No, Shane, I just said that 'cause I was angry. There's no way we can get it done in t-time." she sniffed.

"No problem, I, uh, have a plan." Shane lied with confidence. Michael looked up at him hopefully, and he shrugged and mouthed 'I'll figure it out'. Eve looked at him from around her hands.

"R-really?" she gulped.

"Yep. Just leave it to me." he said gruffly.

"And I can run to the store and get a new pie." Michael suggested quickly. "Everything's going to be just fine, okay?" He kissed the top if her head.

She nodded, wiping her eyes. "I-I'll start the other stuff." she said, her voice sounding a little stronger. The boys nodded, relieved.

Michael kissed her goodbye again before grabbing his keys and heading out to hunt for a pumpkin pie, while Eve threw on her apron and began staring down the ingredients on the counter. Shane stalked into the living room, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do about the giant hunk of dead poultry lying in their bathtub.

Deciding he was going to have to get it out before Claire saw it either way, he was half-way up the stairs before he remembered he needed Michael to lift the stupid thing. _Dammit, Collins!_ he fumed to himself. _You don't need a vampire to lift dinner for you. You can do this yourself!_

He changed his mind when he got to trying to lift it out of the tub.

The damn thing wasn't only heavy, it was _slippery_ , too, and he couldn't get a grip on it. He had just managed to get his arms around it when he lost his footing and fell head-first into the tub filled with water, soaking himself. Swearing, he reached over and let the water out, then tried to get his grip again, only to drop it and slid once again, just barely managing to avoid smacking his head on the faucet.

He swore some more, which did little to the turkey but made him feel better.

He heard someone say his name and, assuming it was Eve, stuck his head out the bathroom door only to find Claire standing on her crutches in the doorway to her room, her eyes wide.

"Shane?" she asked, "What are you doing?"

_Crap._ "Uh, what are _you_ doing? Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, dearly hoping his voice sounded normal.

"Trying to see what all the noise is. What's going on in there? Why are you all wet?" she asked trying to look around him to the bathroom. He stepped out and closed the door behind him, leaning on one arm against the doorway in what he hoped was a casual stance.

"We're, uh, having some plumbing problems. Yeah, it's, er, quite a mess. You don't want to go in there."

Claire frowned. "What kind of plumbing problems?" she asked, just as Eve came thundering up the stairs, a box of donuts in hand.

"Morning, CB! Guess what Michael went and got-" Eve froze mid sentence when she saw Shane.

"Just fixing the drain." Shane said purposely. "You know, the one that Michael's boxers got caught in?"

Eve blinked, then seemed to recover. "Oh, yeah! How's it going?"

"I should be done in a few minutes," he replied, trying to give her a hint.

"Right, right, well. Come on, Claire, you're not supposed to be out of bed! Here's some donuts, look, pumpkin flavored, very festive! We'll just get you back in bed, and turn the parade on TV..." her voice trailed off as she led Claire back to her room, then closed the door.

Shane gritted his teeth, then ran back into the bathroom. He slipped on a wet spot and landed in the tub again - this time with enough momentum to slid the turkey right out of the tub and into the bathroom floor. He blinked until he no longer saw stars, then got up and tried to lift the turkey again. No dice. He scowled, then got an idea. He grabbed hold of the bathroom rug, then started scooting it out with the turkey on it.

_There_ , he thought smugly, _no stupid frozen piece of meat is going to out-smar_ -THUNK!

Shane swore as he lost his footing at the top of the staircase, and the turkey rolled - well, more like threw itself - down the stairs with the velocity of a bowling ball. It dented the wall and hand rail on the way down, then bounced out of sight into the living room with a loud thump.

He stood there at the top of the steps, his mouth open, when he heard Claire yell "What was that?! Shane?"

"Uh, nothing, nothing! The bathroom's fixed!" Shane yelled back, then thundered down the steps.

He swore some more when he saw the turkey, lying beside the upturned coffee table, a broken X-box controller smashed beside it. He was just wondering why Eve hadn't come running to see if he had broken his neck falling down the stairs when he heard her squeal something from the kitchen. He dashed in to see what was the matter, only to find her on the phone, looking more than a little frantic.

He was about to ask her what was wrong when she mouthed the words 'What was that sound?'

He grimaced and opened his mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by a voice from the living room calling "Hello? Am I on time?"

Eve turned around slowly, looking aghast. Shane sighed.

"I'll take care of it." he grumbled, marching back into the living room. There, dressed in all his formal late 1800's glory, was Myrnin, holding what looked like a toolbox.

Shane froze a minute, then put his hands in his pocket and sighed. "Dude, what the hell?"

"Pardon?" said Myrnin, raising his eyebrows. "I was invited, if I may recall, by dear Ever." He held up his toolbox. "I even brought something to eat, just like she said."

Shane shook his head. "It's Eve. And no, what I mean is, what the hell are you doing here _now_ , in our _living room_. You know we have a front door, right? And it's not anywhere _near_ dinner time?"

Myrnin frowned at this. "I was not given a specific time. And why would I walk when it's easier to use the portals?" He looked around the room a minute. "And I should say it's not dinner time, I don't smell any good food cooking. Are you aware there's a dead bird in your living room?"

Shane scowled. "No, I had no idea." he snapped sarcastically.

"Really? That's troubling, the thing is enormous, it's rather hard to miss." Myrnin responded. "It alarms me how negligent you and yours are when Claire isn't keeping up with you."

Shane glared at him in disgust. "Coming from the guy who comes up with new and interesting ways to set himself on fi-" He froze, a light dawning.

Myrnin blinked at him, one eyebrow still raised. "Yes?" he hedged, irritated.

Shane stared at him, then moved forward so that he was right in front of him, making Myrnin look a little taken aback.

"Do you have any wacky inventions that could, oh, I don't know, cook a very large frozen turkey in less than three hours?" Shane asked, looking a little manic.

Myrnin blinked again, then said "I've been working on several that could, hypothetically, cook several grown men in less than three minutes. Why would you want to cook a turkey?" he asked, mystified.

Shane shook his head. "Not a turkey, _that_ turkey, right there." he said, pointing to the poultry resting on the living room carpet.

"Why, yes, of course I could, I suppose. Though I don't know why." Myrnin said with a shrug.

Shane sighed a breath of relief, stepped forward, and said "Look, I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." he sucked in a deep breath. "I need your help. Do you have any gadgets that could cook this bird before dinner, when Claire gets down here? Will you help me, for Claire's sake?" he asked, pride beaten.

Myrnin looked surprised momentarily, then smirked. "Why, yes, of course I'll help you, Collins, if it's for Claire." he said, looking oddly pleased. "In fact, I have the perfect new invention for this!" he said, with a child's excited delight.

With an odd sense of foreboding, Shane reached out and shook Myrnin's hand.


	4. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Myrnin and Shane bond over exploding poultry, Eve realizes she's in way over her head and Michael seriously considers murdering another vampire over a bag of marshmallows.

Eve had gone downstairs after convincing Claire that it was perfectly acceptable for her boyfriend to be digging his best friend's undies out of the drain only to stand there and stare around the kitchen, at a complete loss as to where to start. After looking around a minute she decided that the potatoes needed to be peeled. That didn't seem like too difficult a task.

She had just gotten half a dozen of them peeled when her cell phone rang, the ring tone indicating it was Michael. She dried her hands and thumbed open the connection.

"Uh, I kind of have a problem here." he said by way of greeting.

"What?" she asked. His tone didn't _sound_ like he was being attacked by vampires, but in Morganville, you never could tell. That's when she heard a loud thumping, like someone was kick-boxing the walls, followed by a crash from the living room.

"What was that?" Michael said sharply.

"I don't..." Eve began, then heard Shane yell that the drain was fixed. She assumed that was code for 'big-ass frozen pterodactyl is out of the bathtub', and decided that was all the detail she needed at the moment. "It's fine. What's the problem?" she asked.

He sighed. "I've been to every grocer and convenience store in town, and none of them have any pumpkin pies. They don't even have a fall-back sweet potato or cherry pie, either."

"What?!" Eve squealed frantically. "What do you mean there aren't any? _Anywhere_?"

"No, I checked." He said patiently. "I even went back to Common Grounds, but nothing. Morganville isn't all that big, and most people stay in town for the holidays. I guess everyone wanted a pie."

Shane walked in, still looking soaked and more than a little ticked off. She mouthed 'What was that sound?' He grimaced and started to answer when she heard Myrnin's voice coming from the living room. Of course. Why _wouldn't_ Claire's crazy boss just show up in their living room hours early?

The frustration must have shown on her face, because Shane just sighed and grumbled he'd take care of it.

Michael had still been talking all the while, and she caught the tail-end of his sentence as she watched Shane stalk off. "...so I found a can of the pumpkin stuff, and I'm looking at the ingredients on the side here, and it doesn't really look all that hard." he was saying.

"What?" she asked, feeling even more lost.

"I'll get a crust and the rest of the ingredients on this can of pumpkin, and we can just make a pie ourselves. It doesn't look difficult at all." he said, sounding encouraged, which was much more than Eve felt. She swallowed and stared at the counter, filled with all the food she had yet to cook. She closed her eyes and sighed into the phone. "It's not as though we have any other choice, why not?"

"See? We've got it covered. I'll be back in about twenty, as soon as I get the rest of the stuff. Love you." he said, sounding cheerful as he hung up. Eve put took the phone away from her ear and looked around the kitchen again.

Shane poked his head into the kitchen and said "I'm going to go take care of the turkey, I'll be back by dinner with the bad boy all ready, okay?"

She looked back at him blankly, then remembered Myrnin. "What about Myr-"

"Uh, don't worry I took care of it. He'll come back later. 'Bye." he said quickly, disappearing behind the door. She probably should have been more worried about how fast he had said that, but right now she really didn't care. If Shane had staked Myrnin, it was one less thing for her to worry about. Right now, her only problem was figuring out what to do with the potatoes once she was done peeling them. When in doubt, Google.

* * *

 

Michael sighed with relief. Finally. His twenty minutes had quickly turned into forty when he couldn't find a pie crust in any of the stores he had visited, but this one had just happened to have one all the way at the back of a tall shelf. Luckily he had managed to secure all the other ingredients on his list, though he had to fight a surprising number of other 'runners' hell-bent on trying to find whatever the cooks in their kitchens had sent them off to find. In all honesty, he found most of them less threatening then the grannies and housewives from the day before, and a surprising number of them were vampires.

He bought the last ingredients on his list, then headed home, where Eve was hopefully not killing anyone.

The smell when he hit the door was not encouraging.

"Eve?" he called tentatively. He walked into the kitchen and found no Eve, though there was two pots steaming (which appeared to be where the smell was coming from) on the stove, food spread out all over the counter, and a laptop on the table.

He noticed the laptop was on a web page entitled 'How to boil potatoes'.

Whatever was on the stove, it wasn't potatoes. It smelled more like burned popcorn.

Eve rushed in, looking flustered. "There you are, I was just about to call you! Did you get the stuff?" she said quickly, looking into the bags he had set down on the table.

"Uh, yeah. Where did you go?" he asked, deciding to go investigate the pot where the smell was coming from.

"Ran Claire up some hot chocolate. I've been trying to throw her off the trail, I think she might be on to us." Eve answered, reading the side of the canned pumpkin. "I threw in a DVD to distract her. Between that and her pain meds, I think she'll be out soon anyway. I was actually going to call you because I needed you to get something else while you were out."

"Eve, what's cooking in here?" Michael asked, staring into the pot he had just lifted the lid off of.

"Creamed corn, why?" Eve responded distractedly, consulting her computer screen.

"Not anymore," he sighed, pulling out the spoon that had been sticking out of the pot. A huge, yellowy, burned blob in the shape of the pot was stuck to it. "Now I think it's corn bread."

Eve yelped, then ran over to pull the pot off the stove. "But I only left ii for five minutes!" she cried, waving a hand over the faintly smoking blob. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

Michael shrugged. This stopped being funny when Eve threatened to shove a stake up his ass if he didn't get up this morning, and was all beyond affecting him anymore.

"You said you needed me to pick something up? I'll just go and get some more stuff for this, and whatever else you said you needed."

She threw her arms around him gratefully. "Thank you, I love you, you are a life saver, you know that?" she said against his chest. "I need you to pick up some chicken stock for the stuffing, and some margarine. Or butter. Whatever you can find."

Michael nodded and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a bit," he called over his shoulder, not daring to give her an exact time. He had no idea how many other people he was going to have to battle for the stuff.

He saw her nod at him as she dumped the burned slab of ick into the garbage can, spoon and all, and wondered if he should maybe grab some take-out while he was at it

* * *

 

"So, I'm new at this science thing. What now?" Shane asked, looking around.

After telling Eve he was going, he had walked back into the living room, then through the portal Myrnin had left open for him into the lab. He had managed to save his pride by telling Myrnin to go ahead with the turkey while he was talking to Eve, and when he arrived, Myrnin had it set out on a table with something that looked like a thermometer held over it.

Myrnin looked up at him. "I'm trying to configure the temperature output by the core temperature, then we can start. Though when I say 'we' I mean 'I', since, as you just stated, I am the scientist, not you." he said, turning back to his work.

Shane gritted his teeth. _Don't hit him, don't hit him, you need his help,_ he thought to himself. That was going to be easier said than done. How did Claire put up with him all the time?

"I can say the same about you, boy." Myrnin said, making Shane realize he'd muttered the last part to himself. And of course he heard, with vampire hearing.

Shane shrugged a shoulder, trying to channel Claire's diplomacy. "Fair enough. But really, what do we do now? And is this really going to work?"

Myrnin seemed to have taken Shane's remark as a truce. He nodded and said " _I_ take this device," he held up what looked like a child's toy water gun with a solar panel on the end. "Calibrate it to the right temperature, then point it at the poultry and hit this button. And viola, dinner." he said with a flourish.

Shane blinked at the gun, then the turkey, then Myrnin. "That's it?" he asked.

"That's it." Myrnin replied cheerfully. "This will give me an excellent way to test the device since I've worked all the bugs out."

Shane nodded slowly. Myrnin fiddled with the device some more, then tapped and moved the turkey around some. He nodded to himself after a minute, then backed up to where Shane was standing, turning a dial on the gun's handle. "All ready!" he announced, still sounding like a kid on Christmas.

"You said you made this thing to work on vampires?" Shane asked, in spite of himself. If this thing worked, he kind of wanted one for himself.

"That was the intention," Myrnin replied, still eyeing his gun, which had started to make a high-pitched whining sound, almost like a jet engine.

"Erm, why?" Shane asked. Not that he didn't see the usefulness of it. Hell, even he had to admit it seemed like one of Myrnin's more useful inventions, in his opinion. He just didn't know why Myrnin would want to make one.

Myrnin looked up from the device, which now had rippling waves of heat radiating from the solar panel part of it, like black top on a hot Texas day. "Well, why not?" he said with a shrug.

Which was when, without warning, there was a loud BOOM, and what felt like a truck hit Shane and threw him against the wall, hard.

He lay there on the floor for a minute, hearing a loud ringing in his ears and blinking stars out of his eyes. Something smelled like charcoal and burning wood. He groaned and forced himself to sit up and look around. Myrnin was in a similar position five feet away, looking dazed and using the wall to prop himself up.

"Oh my," he said, shaking his head like a dog ridding its ears of water. "I don't believe I've worked all the bugs out yet."

"No kidding," snapped Shane, stumbling to a standing position. "What the hell was that? What happened?"

Myrnin simply pointed. Shane followed his gaze. There, where the table and turkey once were, there was burned, charred wood pieces. And one frozen, uncooked turkey.

"It seemed to have locked onto the table, rather than the bird." said Myrnin, sounding nonchalant. "I suggest we don't put it on the table, this time."

Shane glared at him, then at the turkey. "And the stupid thing _still_ didn't cook?" he fumed.

"It's quite hardy. I'm sure it didn't go down without a fight in it's life." Myrnin said, nodding gravely. Shane was inclined to agree.

"Moving all other items away from it should fix the problem," Myrnin carried on, standing himself. "Let me just recalibrate the system again, and do get one of those fire extinguishers. And do something about your elbow, it's smoldering." Shane looked down at his elbow in resignation, noticing that, indeed, his jacket was smoking there.

All well. It was Michael's jacket anyway.

* * *

 

"Eve? Eve! What are you doing down there?" Claire called from upstairs.

Dammit. She kept calling and asking what was going on, everything from where Shane and Michael were (Shane was working overtime for some extra cash, and Michael had some vampire business to attend to in Founder's Square, Eve had explained) to what that smell was (Eve had told her that she had turned the oven on and put some of their wet clothes around it, since the dryer was still broken, only to come back and find one of her expensive bras on fire) and why she had thought she had heard Myrnin's voice earlier, and felt a portal open (Eve had pointed out that drug-induced hallucinations weren't unheard of).

Eve was resisting the urge scream. She knew Claire was just concerned and maybe a little suspicious (Eve had to admit she would be, too), but still. This was getting difficult.

She stepped around the pieces of glass plates she had just dropped (the sound was probably why Claire was yelling down again), and poked her head out of the kitchen to yell back "Nothing, CB! Just dropped some dishes! It was Shane's turn to wash again, but you know how that is! Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm okay." she called back. "I'm think I'm going to take a nap, my medicine's making me sleepy."

_Thank God._ Eve thought. She had been wondering when the stupid things were going to work.

She turned back to the dishes on the floor, then remembered what she had been meaning to do before she dropped them. Michael had been gone awhile, so odds were he was still out trying to find the stuff she had sent him out for. She pulled out her phone and started to call him just as he walked in the back door, groceries in hand.

"Okay, I _finally_ found the stuff, though I had to threaten to bite a few people, one of them a vampire, so you may want to stay out of that antique shop on main the guy runs for a little while-" he stopped when he saw her holding the phone, looking at him a little guiltily. He sighed. "You need something else, don't you?"

"Marshmallows," she said, putting her phone away and taking the bag from him. "For the sweet potatoes. Sorry." He just sighed again and nodded, turning around and going right back out the door. Eve decided to go about making her stuffing.

* * *

 

"Alright, that should do it. I _know_ I have it right, this time!" Myrnin said triumphantly, crouching down next to Shane.

They had spent the last hour and a half trying to get the stupid bird cooked, only to have something else in the lab blow-up or burn. Like a lamp. And two more tables. And a bookcase. Shane's jacket. Myrnin's shoes. Their hair.

Now, though, they had effectively removed any other possible targets from the blast field, were ducking behind a solid granite table in the corner that Myrnin had turned over, and were wearing some flame-proof (or so Myrnin said) jackets with hoods and some goggles. Shane also had all of the lab's fire extinguishers behind him, and one in his hands.

As much as Shane hated to admit it, if he hadn't almost died and hadn't been doing this with Myrnin, it would actually be kinda fun.

Well, almost. Micheal was going to be a little pissed about his jacket. And he was pretty sure that laptop had been Claire's.

"Okay, let's do this." Shane said, tightening the grip on his fire extinguisher. Myrnin nodded, then turned the dial, letting the tell-tale whine and air ripples loose.

They waited.

There was a loud pop, and both men ducked and covered their ears, squeezing their eyes closed. The last blast had been a bit blinding.

Nothing happened.

They slowly opened their eyes, then looked at each other. Nodding, they both carefully peeked over the table. No explosions. Taking that as a good sign, Shane walked around the table to where the turkey sat on the floor.

The plastic button timer popped out. Shane looked over at Myrnin, actually giving him an impressed nod. He looked back at the turkey, noting as he did that it even had the golden-brown sheen the ones on TV always seemed to have. Myrnin was frowning at it.

"Dude, it worked! It actually worked! I take back at least one bad thing I've said about you!" Shane said, bending over the turkey. It didn't actually smell like a good roasting Thanksgiving dinner, but he would take what he could get.

"Wait, something's off." said Myrnin, bending over it as well.

"What do you mean?" Shane asked. "It looks fine! See, the button even popped out."

He had barely finished saying it when the turkey just...split. Wide open, revealing a charred, black interior, and sending the button flying out at bullet speed. It ricocheted off the walls a few times, bouncing here and there, before whacking Myrnin in the side of the head, causing him to swear in some language Shane didn't recognize and stumble, knocking Shane into the burned turkey carcass.

On the bright side, Myrnin was right about the jackets - they were flame proof. Just not heat proof. It was like falling against a pile of turkey shaped lava.

Shane swore some himself, then rolled off of source of his agony, trying to get any of the pieces stuck to him off. He rolled into Myrnin, who took a header right into the mass of hot poultry, only to start yelping almost as loudly as Shane.

He jumped off of the turkey, then drop-kicked it. It flew through the air and smacked up against a wall, where it exploded. They both stared at the turkey splattered spot on the wall a minute.

"Ahh, what now?" Myrnin asked, actually sounding sheepish.

Shane closed his eyes and rested his head back against the floor. His stomach felt like it was on fire. "I have no idea. But I'm certainly not going back to Eve and telling her we blew up the Thanksgiving headliner."

Myrnin was silent. When Shane opened his eyes, he was still standing in the same spot, staring at the wall in awe.

"I guess," Shane sighed, sitting up. "we have to get another turkey."

* * *

 

Eve stared in horror at the pile of tasteless mush that was her stuffing. She had followed the recipe almost exactly as it said (okay, so maybe she might have gotten a few things a little off, but part of cooking was adding your own flair, right?), and this looked awful. It tasted even worse. She couldn't serve this to people, not even Myrnin.

The doorbell rang.

"What _now_?" Eve almost wailed, dashing over to go answer it.

It was Hannah Moses. Eve sighed and opened the door. "Hey, Hannah. This really isn't a good time."

Hannah started to open her mouth, then wrinkled up her nose. "What is that smell?" she asked, making a face.

Eve scowled. "I had a bit of an accident with dinner, okay?" she grumbled.

Hannah blinked at her. "Oookay, is that why it isn't a good time?"

"No, it's not a good time because I have a pie in the oven, and my stuffing is _ruined._ " Eve half-sniffed.

Hannah raised her eyebrows. "You're making Thanksgiving dinner?" she asked. At least she was polite enough to try to keep the scepticism out of her voice.

"Yes, and I'm screwing _everything_ up, I can't even make mashed potatoes right!" Eve cried, running her fingers in her hair.

Hannah didn't seem to know how to take this, and just stood awkwardly in the door for a minute. "Ah, you know, Eve, if you're having trouble, you could always give my Gramma a call." she said finally. Eve looked up at her. "What?"

"Just call my Gramma, she'd be happy to help, I'm sure. She makes the best stuffing in Texas, everyone loves Gramma Day's Homemade Stuffing." Hannah suggested. "You can even call her now, if you like."

"Really?" Eve said, her eyes wide. "She'd help me?"

"Well, she'd give you advice over the phone, but yeah, I'm sure she would." Hannah replied with a shrug.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! You're an angel!" cried Eve, as Hannah wrote the number out for her. "Um, what did you need, anyway?"

Hannah shrugged again. "I was actually looking for Michael, there have been some complaints of his, er, conduct at the stores. But now that I'm here, I think I see why. Tell him not to worry about it." She handed over the paper with the number on it. "I'll be off, then. Happy Thanksgiving to you." she said with a nod.

Eve thanked her again and closed the door.

She checked her pie, which was surprisingly turning out okay, then sat down at the table and called Gramma Day. She answered on the fourth ring. "Hello?"

"Hi, Gramma, it's me, Eve."

"Ah, child, I just got off the phone with Hannah. She tells me you need a little help?" said Gramma, sounding friendly and helpful. Eve would have kissed the woman if she's been in front of her.

"Yes, Gramma, thank you. I was wondering about your stuffing recipe...?"

"Of course, child, of course. Alright, here it is, are you ready?" Gramma asked.

Eve picked up her pencil and held it over the paper she had ready. "Ready."

"Go on over to the store and pick up a few boxes of Stove Top."

Eve blinked. "Wait, what? Stove Top? Like the boxed stuffing?"

"Yep, exactly."

Eve stared down at her blank paper. "But, Gramma, I thought Hannah said it was homemade?"

"Yes, and that's what you will say, too, when people ask. You made it at home, it's homemade." Gramma said, not a hint of shame in her voice.

Eve grinned. "I like that idea. Thank you, Gramma!"

"Don't mention it, dear. Feel free to call anytime."

Eve thanked her again, then got off and went to call Michael. She heard the door slam, and looked up to find him standing in the kitchen, a mashed bag of marshmallows in his hand.

"Sorry, it's all they had." he said, sounding defeated.

"I need a few boxes of Stove Top stuffing." she said, standing up and cutting straight to the chase. He didn't even ask why, just tossed her the marshmallows and turned back around.

He paused at the door, though, to turn and ask "Where's Shane, anyway? I haven't seen him."

"Uh, he said he was going to go take care of the turkey problem. He's been gone for a few hours, now. I have no idea." Eve replied distractedly, opening the oven to her pie. It smelled wonderful.

She heard Michael mutter "Probably ran while he still could." as he went out the door.


	5. Good (And Bad) Neighbors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grocery shopping in Morganville is way more dangerous than anyone could ever guess.

"Okay, we'll just get the biggest one we can find, aim your doo-dad at it, and 'poof', instant dinner." Shane said, pushing the shopping cart into the frozen foods section. Myrnin walked beside him, looking around the store in slight fascination. Shane didn't know how many times Myrnin had actually _been_ to a grocery store, now that he thought about it. For all he knew, Claire did his shopping.

They made it to the freezer where all the turkeys were, and Shane was relieved to find there were a few left.

"Yes!" he whooped. "They still have some! Just pop them all in the cart, we might blow a few of them up before we get it right, anyway."

Myrnin nodded, then started grabbing turkeys. Shane looked up and noticed another freezer like the one they were standing by, and walked over to investigate.

There was one lonely, tiny little turkey the size of his two fists sitting inside. It didn't look like it could feed Claire by herself. But beggars couldn't be choosers, they could use it as a test dummy if they had to. He bent over into the freezer to retrieve it when he heard a yell.

He turned a little to see what the sound was, only to have Myrnin hurdle through the air and smack into him, knocking both men into the freezer.

"Son of a-!" yelled Shane, getting cut off by Myrnin's foot hitting him in the face as he scrambled to get out. "Dude! What the hell?!"

"Ask _him_!" snarled Myrnin, fangs down. He was already in a fighting position, standing in front of the freezer, facing the direction from which he had been thrown.

Pennywell was standing by their cart of turkeys, holding the biggest one by the plastic handle, looking as menacing as Myrnin. Though considerably more stupid, as he was holding a turkey for his weapon of choice.

Shane swore some more, then tried (and failed) to climb out of the freezer. Myrnin gave him a passing glance, then grabbed him by the forearm and yanked him out. Shane stumbled to a standing position, and then gave Myrnin a grudging manly nod of thanks before assuming an aggressive fighting stance himself.

"Alright, then I'll ask you. Dude, what the hell?" Shane spat out at Pennywell, who was staring at the two of them looking confused.

"Why are you working together?" he asked, sounding puzzled and (to Shane's annoyance) not the least bit threatened.

"We're on date. What's it to you?" Shane snapped. Pennywell just continued to look puzzled.

"I was under the impression you didn't care for each others company." he replied.

Shane scowled. Did _everyone_ know they didn't get along?

Myrnin's face didn't reveal anything. "Then you've been sadly misinformed, witch hunter. The boy and I are actually quite close, why we're having dinner in just a few hours yet. And I believe we both like you considerably less." he said, flashing fang with an arrogant smirk. "Isn't that right, Shame?"

Shane decided to ignore the last part. "Yep, nothing like common enemies to bring people together. So, ass, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" he asked, trying to put on an arrogant, there's-no-way-you-can-win front like Myrnin.

Pennywell narrowed his eyes at them. "That is none of your concern."

"It is if you're going to throw guys in the freezer section." said Shane.

Pennywell turned his attention to Shane. "That, in fact, had little to do with why I am here." He jerked his chin at Myrnin. "The heretic was trying to take my chosen fowl, so I disposed of him. This has little to do with you, boy."

Shane blinked. Myrnin got thrown over a turkey? Wait, this guy was trying to steal _their_ turkey?

"You're...trying to buy a turkey?" Shane asked. That was just wrong.

"Again, it is none of your concern!" Pennywell snarled.

Myrnin turned his head slightly to Shane, never taking his eyes off Pennywell. "He took the biggest one." he told him. He turned his attention back to Pennywell. "That was not _your_ chosen fowl, I saw it first! It was in my hands!"

_This,_ Shane thought, _Is a fight. In the frozen foods section. I'm starting fights with vampires in the frozen foods section of the store._

_My Dad would be so proud._

"You have many others! I want _this_ one, witch!" Pennywell snarled back.

Shane leaned back against the freezer. He didn't even have any weapons on him. Pennywell was still waving the turkey around. He could probably brain Shane with it. Which gave him an idea.

"Count of three," Shane muttered, reaching back into the freezer. Myrnin nodded a fraction of an inch. "One..."

One of the store clerks ran around the corner, eyes wide. "You guys can't be starting anything in here, it's neutral ground!" he yelled.

"Two..."

"Silence, fool! This doesn't concern you!" Pennywell snapped at the frightened clerk.

"Three!" Shane yelled, and threw the little turkey he'd been trying to get earlier at Pennywell. His head had been turned when he had snapped at the clerk, so he didn't see it coming. It connected right in the face and, coupled with Myrnin's flying tackle, knocked him into the aisle behind him.

Both vamps started snarling and rolling, throwing punches and kicks. The turkey flew through the air and smashed into one of the glass freezer doors a little ways up. Shane jumped out of the way as the vampires slammed into another shelf, knocking glass jars of jelly and peanut butter everywhere.

He reached behind him into another freezer, grabbing something that felt weapon-like, and pulled it forward. Some kind of frozen sausage roll. Beggars couldn't be choosers.

He rushed forward and slugged what he hoped was Pennywell over the head with it.

Well, he got him on the second swing, at least.

Pennywell snarled again and threw a disoriented Myrnin (they were moving too fast for Shane to tell exactly _who_ he'd been hitting) off of him, then lunged for Shane.

Shane managed to move so he just brushed by him, but stepped on a jar of peanut butter and fell backwards. The next thing he knew, Pennywell was holding him up by his throat, fangs out.

_Of all the ways I could have died in battle,_ Shane thought dully, _Why the hell did it have to be over a turkey?_

"You, boy, will have crossed me for the last time." Pennywell growled.

Shane saw Myrnin sit up from where he had been thrown, near the cartful of turkeys. He looked up at him, then kicked the cart, hard.

It rolled down the aisle faster than should have been possible and slammed into Pennywell, knocking him into a wooden country ham display.

Shane gasped and choked for a minute, and when he had stopped coughing he saw Pennywell and Myrnin in a deadlock on the floor again, claws at each others throats. Shane looked beside him, and saw the splintered remains of the wooden display.

"Myrnin!" he yelled, and tossed him a piece. Myrnin bounced back from Pennywell to catch it, only to be thrown, again, this time at the bread aisle.

Which gave Michael the perfect opportunity to stake Pennywell.

Pennywell blinked, looked down at the stake in his chest, then up at Michael in surprise. "I just wanted dinner." he muttered, before succumbing to the wood and hitting the ground.

Shane stared at Michael. Then at Pennywell. Then the destruction of the store around him, before letting his eyes fall on Myrnin, who was stirring amidst a pile of squished bread.

He turned back to Michael. "Uh, thanks, bro. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for dinner rolls and a can of cranberry sauce." Michael said warily. "Just what are _you_ doing here, exactly?"

Shane looked around, and then picked up the little turkey beside him, the one he had thrown at Pennywell. "Getting a turkey, see?"

Myrnin held up a squashed package, still lying down. "I found your dinner rolls." he said helpfully.

Shane turned to Michael, thumbs up. "See? And you didn't even have to fight any old ladies for it."

Michael just shook his head. "Only you," he said, still shaking his head. "Could start a fight with a vampire in the freaking _frozen foods_ section."

Neither Myrnin nor Shane had anything to say to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to make a special point here on Pennywell's name...I'm aware that in later books he's called Pennyfeather. However, when he was first introduced, his name was Pennywell. So when talking about him, I tend to call him Pennywell...and that's what came out when I typed his name. So anyone that prefers to call him Pennyfeather can just pretend that's what it says when you read his name


	6. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It may not have been in the form they were planning, but dinner is finally served.

Shane couldn't help but think that as powerful as Amelie was, she should be able to afford more comfortable chairs in her office.

"So you started a fight that destroyed half of the store, which was on neutral ground, no less, over a _turkey_?" Amelie demanded incredulously.

"When you say it like that, my dear, it just sounds petty." said Myrnin, sounding bored. He was lounging in his own uncomfortable chair beside Shane, though he looked he couldn't care less about the outcome. His limbs were spread out and relaxed, like a cat. "You should really just be thankful there wasn't more damage, or that I didn't use my Thermal Ray on Pennywell."

Shane glared at him. "You had that thing on you, and you didn't use it?" he demanded.

Myrnin shrugged."I forgot it was in my pocket." he replied.

Amelie put her hand to her forehead, looking as though she needed an aspirin. "You two fought with one of the oldest vampires in town and caused an insufferable amount of property damage, and this is all you have to say in your defence?" she said, still sounding like she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"Hey, he started it!" Shane protested.

"He says you were taking all the turkeys." Amelie said in answer, shaking her head.

"First come, first serve." Myrnin said cheerfully. Amelie gave him a look.

"And he's the one who threw Myrnin into me! He threw the first punch!" Shane said, before Amelie could start. "Uh, right?" he added, giving Myrnin a sideways glance. Myrnin nodded.

"Yes, he hit me with the turkey we were fighting over, and threw me into Shame, here. We were simply defending ourselves." he said gravely.

"I'm well aware of Pennywell's... tendencies to push things. However, you two acted just as despicable as he did. I'm-" she shook her head, staring at them. "Well, sadly, I can't say I'm surprised with either of you. I would have expected better behavior from you, but this isn't the first time either of you has disappointed me." She sighed. "What do you suppose I am to tell Oliver, now?"

They both made rude, derogatory sounds deep in their throats, and then looked at each other. That was something they both had in common, at least. Well, that and poor impulse control.

Amelie just stared at them. "That's another thing. What were you doing there together?" she asked warily.

" _Why_ does everyone keep asking that?" demanded Shane. It was the first thing Michael had asked once Myrnin and Shane had gotten up back at the store, before the cops had shown up.

"It is no secret you two dislike each other." Amelie replied. "I think the entire town knows it." She shook her head again. "My God, how does poor Claire put up with you two? I think I shall have to give her a raise."

Both men scowled. Amelie raised her eyebrows and sighed. "You didn't answer my question. What were you two doing there together? I already know what you were doing there, Mr. Collins, Michael told me about your dinner plans. But why were you there with him, Myrnin?"

"I was helping!" Myrnin said indignantly.

Amelie gave him a steady look. "Somehow I doubt that." she replied.

"No, he's actually telling the truth." sighed Shane.

"We blew up the first turkey, you see." Myrnin added, nodding.

Amelie gazed at the two of them, her face a blank mask. "Pardon?"

Shane grimaced. "Might as well start from the beginning..."

* * *

 

Even after he and Myrnin had explained the whole story to Amelie, Shane could tell she didn't quite believe them. Myrnin pointed out that she could go visit the lab to verify, but she declined. In the end, she handed down their punishments, still shaking her head in disbelief, and dismissed them. Michael was waiting outside the door for them.

They started to walk off, Myrnin complaining about the unfairness of the whole ordeal while Michael simply shook his head and muttered to himself, when Shane turned around and said awkwardly, "You know, uh, you're welcome to come, if you want."

Amelie looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. "Pardon?" she asked.

"Uh, well, you can come to dinner, if you want." Shane said, still sounding awkward. He didn't know why he said it; it just came out of him. Maybe if he showed he could be polite and civil, she wouldn't be quite as harsh. "Though I'm not so sure there's going to be much of a dinner now..." he trailed off.

Amelie stared at him in surprise. So did Michael and Myrnin. Shane hoped his face wasn't getting red.

"That's...polite of you." Amelie answered carefully. "Although, I actually already have plans. So I'm afraid I'll have to decline. But thank you." she said, nodding her head slightly at him in acknowledgment. Shane nodded back, feeling a little relieved.

They all turned to go again when Amelie called "Do give Claire my well-wishes for her recovery. And Happy Thanksgiving, gentlemen." They all nodded their acknowledgment, and then carried on.

"What the hell was that?" Michael demanded when they got into the elevator.

Shane shrugged. "I was trying to be nice. You know, like Claire's always saying I should? And besides, you and Eve invited your own vampires, I figure I still had an invite to give." he snapped, leaning up against the wall.

Michael groaned.

"What?" Shane asked, though he felt like groaning too.

"Eve." Michael groaned again. "She's going to kill us." He ran his hand over her face, and then looked up at Shane. " _You_ get to tell her you blew up the turkey." he added darkly.

Shane gulped and winced. Myrnin looked between the two of them, then casually asked "Is she still a good shot with a crossbow?"

* * *

 

"I. Cannot. _Believe_ you guys!" cried Eve. "You blew up a turkey. You started a fight with a vampire in a grocery store. You _still_ don't have a turkey. And Theo is supposed to be here any minute!"

Michael stepped forward, which the others found very brave of him. The tongs she was holding looked deadly.

"But look, I, uh, got the rolls and cranberry sauce you wanted." he said helpfully. Well, brave or stupid.

"All the good that does me now! We don't even have a turkey! What am I supposed to tell Claire?" Eve snapped.

"You could tell her the truth." suggested Myrnin, making sure both Shane and Michael were between him and Eve.

"What? That Michael had to go bail her boss and her boyfriend out of hot water because they started a fight with Pennywell in the freezer section of Save-A-Lot, all because they had blown up the turkey with a device that she had specifically told Myrnin _not_ to use?" Eve demanded.

Even Myrnin had to bow his head at that one.

"No, that we tried." Michael said carefully. "I mean, that's all we can say, isn't it? We still have all the other stuff, Eve, and it smells really good."

It did. All the smells had hit them as soon as they had walked in the door, and they heard Shane's stomach growl.

"It will have to do. It will still be okay, Eve, she'll still be surprised." Michael continued.

Eve sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I was just looking forward to seeing her surprised. I wanted it to be perfect." she said, leaning against Michael for a hug. "How much trouble did you guys get in with Amelie, anyway?" she asked.

Shane shrugged. "Not too bad, considering." He scowled and pointed at Myrnin with his thumb. "I have to do two days of community service with _him._ Michael got off scott-free, though, since he just happened to walk in and stop the fight."

Eve opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. She sighed. "That would be Theo. I'll get it." she said, letting go of Michael and heading for the door. She returned a few minutes later with Theo and some of his family. Theo was holding a covered dish, and smiled warmly at them.

"Hello, everybody. It's nice to see you. Thank you for inviting me." he said pleasantly, looking around at them. He was wearing something nice, and Shane was suddenly a little self-conscious that he was wearing half-singed clothes that smelled like smoke and burned poultry.

"Uh, yeah, nice to see you, too, Doctor." Shane said, shaking his hand. Michael did the same, followed by Myrnin, who looked at his covered dish and made and "Oh!" before jumping up and running through a portal in the living room. He came back with his toolbox, looking proud.

Eve didn't ask, just grabbed Theo's dish and the toolbox and walked them into the kitchen. Shane decided to go change his clothes. When he came back downstairs, Eve was evidently telling Theo about the lack of turkey.

"-anyway, there was a bit of an accident, so we're going to be eating without the main dish, I'm really sorr-"

The doorbell rang again. "I'll get it." said Michael, heading for the door. Theo turned back to Eve.

"It all smells wonderful, I'm sure everything will be all right." He turned to Shane as he walked in. "Ah, Shane, would you like some apple cider?"

Theo's daughter-in-law offered Shane a cup. He thanked her and took a sip. It was actually pretty good.

Michael came back into the living room, an odd look on his face. "Uh, the other guests are here." he said, giving Shane a funny look.

Eve looked up, puzzled. "What other-?" She stopped and stared as Hannah Moses walked in, a large dish covered in foil in her hands.

"Got a place I can put this down? He's a bit heavy." Hannah asked, giving Eve a wink. Behind Hannah Gramma Day walked in, leaning on her cane.

"My, everything smells good. When do we eat? And where's Claire, she feeling any better?" Gramma asked, looking around the group at large. "Ah, I didn't know my neighbor was going to be here. Behavin' yourself, I hope?" she said, giving Myrnin a stern look.

"As always, madam." Myrnin said with a bow.

"Of course he shall behave himself, I wouldn't expect any less of him." said a calm, stern voice behind Gramma. Amelie. Everyone gaped at her for a few seconds before Theo broke the silence.

"Good see you, Amelie! I didn't realize you were going to be here." he said, still smiling.

Amelie gave a calm smile in return. "I was invited, but had to decline due to a previous engagement. However, I found my hostess thought perhaps we should spend our meal with more company, so here we are." she said, giving Gramma Day a warm smile. Gramma returned it.

"Well I remembered I intended to ask these children over to my table, but I forget things in my old age. Plus I ruined my batch of stuffing, and heard Eve was supposed to be making some of the best, so I couldn't resist." Gramma said with a wink at Eve. "Hannah! Did that turkey make it okay? I hope you don't mind, but I brought some of my cranberry sauce and some dinner rolls as well."

Eve stared at her, stunned. "No, of course we don't mind! That's wonderful, Gramma. Uh, I guess we can eat soon, then." she said, looking like she might be fighting back tears of joy. Shane and Michael both had to resist the urge to fist-bump the old woman.

"I also brought something, it that's acceptable." said Amelie, holding up a dish herself.

Michael took it from her while Eve said "Of course it's acceptable, ah, I mean, thank you, ma'am. And thank _you,_ too, Gramma."

Gramma shrugged. "It was a little unpleasant trying to eat at my house, anyway. It's the darndest thing; there is this awful burning smell around the neighbourhood. Just plain ruins your appetite."

Amelie gave Myrnin and Shane a cold stare while they looked at each other quickly, then away.

"Well I, for one, think we should get ready to eat. It all looks delicious," said Myrnin quickly, avoiding looking at Gramma. He even joined Shane and Michael, who were trying to set the table.

Everyone started helping, with the exception of Amelie and Gramma Day, who were making polite conversation after the others insisted that they go ahead and sit down.

There was another knock at the door, and Eve rushed off to get it this time.

Amelie suddenly stopped talking and stared in the direction of the foyer, her eyebrows raised. She excused herself from Gramma Day, and then walked in that direction. Sensing trouble, Shane and Michael followed her while the others talked and continued.

All three walked into the foyer to find Oliver standing in the doorway, a flat box in his hand, looking at a surprised Eve. "Uh, what are you doing here?" she asked, holding the door. Oliver looked annoyed, and held out the box to her.

"You left this behind yesterday. I thought I would drop it off, since I had nothing better to do." he said stiffly. Eve took the box, still staring at him in surprise.

"The pie I forgot?" she asked, looking at it.

"My my, Oliver, that was kind of you. And very out of character." Amelie said, smiling. Both Oliver and Eve jumped and looked back at her in surprise.

Oliver recovered, and replied "I do like to keep people on their toes. Pray tell, Amelie, what are you doing here?"

Amelie gave a graceful move of her shoulders. "I was invited as a guest, Oliver. I take my invitations very seriously. Now if you don't mind, I think I shall return to the party."

Oliver didn't seem to know what to say to that, and actually jerked in surprise when Eve said "Uh, Thank you, I guess, Oliver. Um, yeah, that was...nice of you." She looked like the words were some foreign language she was struggling to get out. Oliver was staring at her like he was trying to translate them. Amelie actually chuckled a little, and Shane and Michael both had to resist the urge to laugh themselves. The whole thing was just ridiculous.

Eve looked pained for a minute more, then sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but..." she said, taking a deep breath. "Oliver, would you like to join us?"

He stared at her for a beat, then up at Amelie, who hadn't left yet. Shane and Michael wondered if the world was turning backwards on its axis.

"I...yes. I think I will." he said carefully, stepping inside as Eve moved out of the way for him. "Thank you." he added, though he made an almost-face as he said it.

Amelie really did chuckle this time, shaking her head as she turned around. "You were never one for graciousness, Oliver." she said as she walked.

Everyone stared when they walked back in. Myrnin even made a face at Oliver, who ignored it.

"Uh, Oliver's going to be joining us!" Eve announced, still looking a little flustered. "He even brought a pumpkin pie, which means there will be plenty to go around with the one I made." Theo looked over at her, looking a little sheepish.

"Ah, yes, well, there should be plenty, I'm afraid that's what I brought as well." he said.

"Oh, but that's what I brought!" protested Myrnin, looking at Oliver in annoyance. He turned to Amelie. "What did you bring, my dear?" She smiled slightly.

"A pumpkin pie." she said calmly. Everyone looked around the room, before Michael and Shane burst out laughing. Hannah joined them.

"Uh, yeah, well, plenty of pie to go around. Claire said something about pie," Eve said hastily. "Everybody gets some pie! Now, lets get this all set up and-"

"What's going on down here?" gasped a voice from the top of the stairs.

Everyone turned to see Claire standing on her crutches, looking at them with wide-eyed confusion. "What's going on?" she repeated, looking around. "And why do I smell sweet potatoes?"

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Michael and Shane cried, throwing their arms out and laughing again.

* * *

 

Claire grinned to herself. They were all eating at the table, mismatched chairs everywhere to accommodate everyone. Eve had done her best with the food, and though some things weren't as good as others, it was all still delicious. Especially the stuffing.

Everyone was talking and joking with each other. Even Shane and Myrnin, sitting beside her, were being civil to each other; they were snickering about something involving a turkey and Pennywell. Claire wasn't sure, she didn't get the joke.

Looking across the table, Oliver and Amelie were talking, and even they both had small smiles on their faces, looking relaxed.

It was just like being at the dinner table with her family at home...only this was her Morganville family.

"I can't believe you pulled this off," Claire said softly to Shane.

"We can't, either." Michael muttered two chairs down from her. She gave him a questioning look, but Shane caught her attention.

"Come on, Claire, you know us." he said with a wink. "We can take on draug and vampires and God-knows-what, we weren't going to be sidelined by a little thing like Thanksgiving." He held up his cider glass and clinked glasses with Myrnin, who said "To Turkey!" and downed his cup. Both he and Shane chuckled at that, and Claire wondered if they had been putting something extra in their cups.

She shook her head. "It's just...you went to all this trouble, and got this all together on such short notice, and without me finding out...it has me wondering what you guys are doing for Christmas."

Myrnin and Shane both choked on their drinks, and Michael suddenly seemed to be having a coughing fit over a bite of bread. All three stared at her, wide-eyed.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Shane said hoarsely, while Michael just looked distressed. Claire couldn't figure out that one, and kept eating, listening to Eve and Gramma Day talk about stuffing and cranberry sauce, while Michael argued with Theo's son about something football related. Yep. Just like family. She wondered how dessert was going to go.

She didn't have the heart to tell anyone she didn't like pumpkin pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and Happy Thanksgiving!


End file.
